Groundhogs across Canada

Fenwick Flossie
Fenwick, Ont.
- mascot
- one of the few female "groundhogs"
- In 2013 she made her prediction a day early so school children could attend the event.
(VICTORIA GRAY/QMI AGENCY)VICTORIA GRAY Staff Photo

Chilly Charlie
Woodstock, Ont.
- mascot
- has a reputation for 'being a bit of a social gadabout'
- tradition started in 2003 when a group of friends got caught in a snowstorm on their way to see Wiarton Willie, so they decided to do something at home the next year
(HEATHER RIVERS/QMI AGENCY FILE PHOTO)

Spanish Joe
Spanish, Ont.
- was at one time real but has been predicting the weather as a ghost for 20 years.
- the story goes that he was run over by a bus, and its body taken to a taxidermist. His spiritual medium Rick Story says shortly after Joe's death "it became apparent that Joe has a direct link to the spiritual world."
- he retired a few years ago after 20 years of predicting the weather from the other side, but has recently decided to come out of retirement
(Photo: Supplied/QMI Agency)

Manitoba Merv
Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre, Winnipeg
- puppet
- has never been wrong
- has a girlfriend named Manitoba Maria (she was purchased one year when staff at the centre thought they'd lost the Merv puppet)
(Photo: Supplied/QMI Agency)

Brandon Bob
Brandon, Man.
- puppet/animal that is not a groundhog (hamster, guinea pig)
- wears a sombrero and drives a purple convertible in a YouTube video from 2012
- created by local radio station Star FM
- People have been questioning his existence for years. In 2013, the Brandon Sun newspaper ran a story saying, "Brandon Bob, where are you?" In it, the reporter notes Brandon Bob seems to be known everywhere but in Brandon.
- 95% average
- described by Tyler Glen of StarFM as "Cute, adorable, accurate,"
(Photo: Supplied/QMI Agency)

Balzac Billy
Balzac, Alta.
- mascot
- known for his red jacket
- nicknamed the Prairie Prognosticator
- he attends other events throughout the year
- has a particular fondness for pancakes
- created by the Balzac Business Association in the 1970s
(TESSA CLAYTON/QMI AGENCY)TESSA CLAYTON/AIRDRIE ECHO/QMI A

Wiarton Willie
Wiarton, Ont.
- Claim to fame: The only albino prognosticator
- has been predicting the weather since 1957
- a funeral was held for one of the Willies in 1999 after his death was reported by national media. It has never been released how many Willies there have been, but all have been albino.
- members of Willie's shadow cabinet plan the celebrations on Feb. 2
(REUTERS/Geoff Robins)REUTERS

Oromocto Ollie
CFB Gagetown, N.B.
- started predicting the weather in 2011 after officials at CFB Gagetown approached the New Brunswick Provincial Capital Commission about getting their own groundhog
- competition was held to come up with his name (he is named for a town near the base)
- has yet to be seen on Groundhog Day - he has not made it out of his burrow to make a prediction

Shubenacadie Sam
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, N.S.
- pronounced "Shoo-ben-ack-a-dee"
- has a Twitter account @ShubenacadieSam and a live webcam people can follow year round
- said to train for the big day with meditation and yoga
(Photo: Supplied/QMI Agency)

Winnipeg Willow
- began predicting weather in 2012
- was rescued by the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in 2010 and now serves as an ambassador for the centre
- Willow broke her leg during rehabilitation and therefore needed additional care, which resulted in her becoming too accustomed to humans to be released again into the wild.
- in her first two predictions, she said the opposite of what Manitoba Merv did. But Merv is a puppet.
(Howard Wong/Handout)Howard Wong/Handout

Every year on Feb. 2, Canadians turn to groundhogs to find out just how much more winter we have to endure.

As Wiarton Willie in Ontario and Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia leave their burrows, we wait to hear whether they see their shadows.

It’s a tradition that dates back to pagan times in prehistoric Europe.

But, as silly as the holiday already is in the modern world, it’s gotten even sillier in recent years with some areas looking to host the holiday on the cheap.

Imposter groundhogs have taken over.

Fakes have been cropping up from coast to coast in recent year, and even include the famous likes of Manitoba Merv (a puppet) and Calgary area’s Balzac Billy (a mascot).

Wiarton Willie festival committee member Todd Gibbons chuckles at the name Balzac, but upon hearing Billy is a person in a costume, he stops laughing.

"He belongs in a parade. He cannot predict the weather."

As for Merv, Gibbons thinks the puppet should take its show on the road.

"I’m thinking Manitoba Merv should just go to Las Vegas and work with (ventriloquist) Terry Fader," Gibbons said with a laugh.

But Jacques Bourgeois of the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre, the group that runs the Manitoba Merv celebrations in Winnipeg, said you can’t argue with his track record.

"Manitoba Merv has never been wrong so far in the past 20 years or so he’s been making his prediction for Manitoba," Bourgeois said in an e-mail. "I’m personally not much of a believer of such ‘predictions’ but the data are making me wonder if there is some kind of truth to it."